“Growing up in Washington Heights, we didn’t have soccer fields,” Ana explained. “We didn’t have people coming there and trying to help us,” she added. “So, the Active Family Project, if people go to the Facebook page, they can like, they can share, they can make a comment, and they’re going to be donating money to underserved communities, and they’re going to be donating soccer equipment and training.”

What else does Ana love about the effort? “This is also showing people how to get out and stay together as a family,” she shared enthusiastically. While she grew up in a tight-knit community that cared for their own, she admits that the Active Family Project would’ve made a huge difference back then.

Ana Ortiz, actress, soccer mom, and celebrity spokesperson for Merck Consumer Care’s Active Family Project, kicked off the Play Soccer for a Change campaign, supporting US Youth Soccer to give more families the opportunity to be active through soccer, August 19, 2014 in New York. Visit Facebook.com/ActiveFamilyProject to find out how you can help. (Photo Credit: Insider Images/Gary He)

On balancing life as a working mother (she does, after all, star in the Lifetime show Devious Maids), Ana said that leading by example is important, especially with all the competition: television, social media, etc. “My husband and I are both very outdoorsy, active people in general. So, my kids, that’s what they know and that’s what they like.”

The Active Family Project is a health and wellness effort that encourages family playtime during Youth Soccer Month this September. To find out more, please visit ActiveFamilyProject.com.